1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for facilitating alignment of a hitch ball on a towing vehicle with a trailer hitch and more particularly, to a trailer back-up mirror which is removably attached to the frame of a boat, camper, recreational vehicle or other trailer for facilitating alignment of the hitch ball on a towing vehicle with the trailer hitch as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer, in order to couple the trailer hitch to the hitch ball. In a preferred embodiment the trailer back-up mirror is characterized by a support shaft fitted with a magnet for magnetically and removably attaching the support shaft to the trailer frame. An adjusting shaft is typically adjustably extendible from the support shaft, and a flexible gooseneck shaft extension projects from the extending end of the adjusting shaft. A typically rectangular mirror mount plate terminates the gooseneck shaft extension and a flat mirror and a convex mirror are mounted on the bent mirror mount plate. In use, the gooseneck shaft extension is initially adjusted to position the mirror mount plate such that both the trailer hitch and hitch ball appear in the convex mirror and only the trailer hitch appears in the flat mirror. As the towing vehicle is backed toward the trailer hitch, the driver of the vehicle views the mirrors, either directly or through the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The convex mirror provides a general indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch, thus enabling the driver to correctively maneuver the vehicle as needed for proper alignment until the trailer hitch and hitch ball both appear in the flat mirror. The enlarged image in the flat mirror gives the vehicle driver a more precise indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch, and this enables the driver to further maneuver the vehicle in order to successfully guide the hitch ball to the hitch.
Boat, camper and recreational vehicle trailers and the like are commonly transported by hitching the trailers to towing vehicles by means of a ball and socket type hitch assembly, in which a hitch ball is mounted on the rear frame portion of the towing vehicle and the trailer is provided with a hitch socket which is adapted to securely receive the hitch ball. A common problem inherent in the ball and socket hitching operation is difficulty in obtaining the necessary alignment of the hitch ball with the hitch socket to effect coupling, since the hitch ball is typically out of view of the driver of the towing vehicle as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer. Consequently, the driver typically experiences substantial difficulty in maneuvering the vehicle to effect proper alignment of the hitch ball with the hitch.
One technique that is frequently used to effect proper alignment of the hitch ball with the hitch involves positioning an observer at the rear of the towing vehicle to indicate to the driver maneuverings of the vehicle which are needed for the alignment. However, an observer is not always available to assist in the hitching operation. Consequently, various mirror devices have been designed for indicating to the driver of a towing vehicle whether the hitch ball of the vehicle is located in proper alignment with the trailer hitch for successful hitching. However, most of these mirrors are designed to be fixedly mounted on the frame of the trailer and are incapable of convenient removal and adjustment for use with other trailers of various sizes and designs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices are known in the art for enabling the driver of a towing vehicle to achieve proper alignment of a hitch ball on the vehicle with a trailer hitch during a trailer hitching operation. One of the early devices is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,914, dated Jan. 3, 1967, to William Dietrich, entitled xe2x80x9cHitch Guide Mirror for Mounting on a Trailer Jack Housingxe2x80x9d. The device is characterized by a support arm which is clamped vertically on the trailer jack housing of a trailer jack, and angles over the top of the housing. An adjustable mirror is attached by means of a ball-and-socket joint to the upper end of the support arm. The angle of the mirror is initially adjusted on the support arm such that the trailer hitch appears in the mirror as the vehicle is subsequently backed toward the trailer. U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,701, dated Aug. 18, 1970, to Robert J. Strohmeier, details a xe2x80x9cTrailer Hitch Viewing Mirror Assembly for Mounting on a Trailer Jack Postxe2x80x9d, characterized by a malleable metallic support arm having a mirror attached to the upper end thereof and a magnet attached to the lower end thereof for attaching the support arm to the jack post of a trailer. The support arm can be bended at a selected angle to cause appearance of the hitch ball and trailer hitch in the mirror, thus enabling the driver of the towing vehicle to properly maneuver the vehicle and align the hitch ball with the trailer hitch. An xe2x80x9cAligning Device for Tractor Hitchesxe2x80x9d is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,292, dated Oct. 23, 1973, to Phillip R. Rutkowski. The device includes a bracket which is adapted to be mounted on a cooking gas tank, provided on the front of a camper trailer. A pair of support arms extends forwardly from the bracket, and a convex mirror mounted on the front ends of the support arms enables the driver of a towing vehicle to simultaneously view the hitch ball of the vehicle and the hitch of the trailer in the mirror as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,606, dated Aug. 7, 1979, to Peter M. Granno, describes a xe2x80x9cHitch Viewing Trailer Mirror With Snap Button Connectionxe2x80x9d which is designed for attachment to a pair of gas-containing tanks provided on the front end of a camper trailer. The device is characterized by a channel-shaped cross member which spans the adjacent gas tanks, and a support rod is adjustably horizontally extendible from the front end of a support member which extends forwardly from the cross member. A mirror, pivotally attached to a support arm which is vertically adjustably connected to the support rod, can be adjusted on the support arm to enable the driver of a towing vehicle to simultaneously view the hitch ball of the vehicle and the hitch of the camper trailer during the hitching operation. An xe2x80x9cOptical Target System for Trailer Hitch Alignmentxe2x80x9d is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,289, dated May 3, 1994, to Brady G. Johnson. The device includes first and second targets which can be removably positioned in referencing relationship with respect to the hitch ball of a towing vehicle and a trailer hitch. A viewing mirror can be removably positioned on the trailer to provide the driver of the towing vehicle with a reflected view of the two targets. Each of the targets includes a longitudinal guidance element that is disposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle or trailer, respectively, and a transverse guidance element which is transversely oriented with respect to the respective longitudinal guidance elements and located above the hitch assembly component to provide a visual reference to a vertical axis which extends through those components. U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,564, dated Oct. 20, 1998, to Kevin P. Mazarac, describes a xe2x80x9cRear-Mounted Vehicle Mirrorxe2x80x9d, characterized by a mounting member which is adapted to engage the rear of a towing vehicle, and a support arm slidably carried by the mounting member is positioned at an acute angle relative to the vehicle surface. A convex mirror is mounted to the support arm for viewing a trailer hitch as the hitch ball of the towing vehicle is backed toward the trailer hitch. xe2x80x9cCamping Worldxe2x80x9d annual 1999 catalog details a pair of trailer alignment devices utilizing mirrors.
An object of this invention is to provide a trailer back-up mirror for facilitating proper alignment of a towing vehicle with the hitch of a trailer, to facilitate coupling the vehicle to the trailer hitch.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trailer back-up mirror which can be removably attached to the frame of a boat, camper, recreational vehicle or other trailer for facilitating alignment of the hitch ball on a towing vehicle with the trailer hitch as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer, in order to couple the trailer hitch to the hitch ball.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a trailer back-up mirror system which utilizes both a convex and a flat mirror and can be removably attached to trailers of various designs for facilitating alignment of the hitch ball on a towing vehicle with the trailer hitch as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer, in order to couple the trailer hitch to the hitch ball.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a trailer back-up mirror characterized by a support shaft which can be removably and magnetically attached to the frame of a boat, recreational vehicle or camper trailer; an optional adjusting shaft adjustably extendible from the support shaft; a flexible gooseneck shaft extension which extends from the support shaft or the adjusting shaft and a convex mirror and a flat mirror provided on a bent support or mount plate attached to the end of the gooseneck shaft extension, wherein the gooseneck shaft extension is initially adjusted such that the hitch ball of the towing vehicle and the trailer hitch both appear in the convex mirror and the trailer hitch appears as a larger image in the flat mirror. The convex mirror gives the vehicle driver a large field of vision and provides a general indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch and thus enables the driver to maneuver the vehicle accordingly until the trailer hitch and hitch ball both appear in the flat mirror, which enlarges the hitch ball and trailer hitch images and provides a more precise indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch and thus enables the driver to maneuver the vehicle more precisely in order to successfully guide the hitch ball to the hitch.
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a trailer back-up mirror which can be removably, and typically magnetically, attached to the frame of a boat, camper, recreational vehicle or other trailer for facilitating alignment of the hitch ball on a towing vehicle with the trailer hitch as the vehicle is backed toward the trailer, in order to couple the trailer hitch to the hitch ball. In a preferred embodiment the trailer back-up mirror is characterized by a support shaft fitted with a magnet for magnetically and removably attaching the support shaft to the trailer frame. An adjusting shaft is adjustably extendible from the support shaft, and a flexible gooseneck shaft extension projects from the extending end of the adjusting shaft. A typically rectangular, bent, or angular mirror mount plate terminates the shaft extension and a flat mirror and convex mirror are mounted on the mirror mount plate. In use, the gooseneck shaft extension is initially adjusted to cause appearance of the hitch ball and trailer hitch in the convex mirror and the trailer hitch in the flat mirror. As the towing vehicle is backed toward the trailer hitch, the driver of the vehicle views the mirrors, either directly or through the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The wide field of vision in the convex mirror on the lower leg of the bent plate gives the vehicle driver a general indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch, thus enabling the driver to correctively maneuver the vehicle as needed for alignment until the trailer hitch and hitch ball both appear as larger images in the flat mirror. The flat mirror on the upper leg of the bent plate provides a more precise indication of whether the hitch ball is aligned with the trailer hitch, and this enables the driver to further maneuver the vehicle in order to successfully guide the hitch ball to the hitch.